Top Five NBA Teams To Bet On
By Lenny Del Genio
With NFL Football betting now over, the time has come to focus on basketball picks, particularly NBA basketball betting. Below you will find a list of the five NBA teams with the five best ATS records in the league through February 7th, 2010.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 31-19 ATS (29-21 SU) – Led by Kevin Durant, the Thunder have already exceeded last year’s win total and currently occupy the seventh playoff position in the Western Conference. As of press time, the team has won five straight games overall and 16 times during Durant’s streak of 24 straight games scoring 25 points or more. Oklahoma City is one of three teams in the West with a winning road record, but of concern is their 13-15 SU conference mark. Of the utmost importance is the team’s 17-2 ATS record if they did not cover its previous game.
2. Atlanta Hawks 30-18-1 ATS (32-17 SU) – The Hawks have changed the Eastern Conference’s “big three” to a “big four” conversation and currently trail first place Orlando by just a single game in the Southeast Division. They are currently third overall in the Eastern Conference, tied with Boston, whom they beat all four times this season. Note that there is a strong home vs. road dichotomy here as Atlanta is 21-5 SU at home, but just 11-12 SU on the road. They have managed to stay afloat away from Phillips Arena going 12-10-1 ATS and are an extremely lucrative 18-8-1 ATS on their own floor.
3. Utah Jazz 29-17-3 ATS (31-18 SU) – This is arguably the hottest team in the Western Conference right now with eight straight victories and a phenomenal 12-1-2 ATS record the last 15 games overall. Since Andrei Kirilenko was inserted into the starting lineup, the offensive output has skyrocketed with 13 games of 100+ points in the last 15 and in nine of those games scored 110 or more. The key Utah Jazz betting angle is that they are a perfect 9-0 ATS at home this year, when playing with rest, against an un-rested visitor. The average score in these games has been a remarkable 112.5-93 with an average line of -8!
4. Milwaukee Bucks 29-18-2 (23-26 SU) – The Bucks did a lot of their damage at the betting window early in the season when they covered eight of their first 11 games. They’ve also gone 9-1-1 ATS their last 11 games. Obviously that means they weren’t very good in between, going 12-16-1 ATS. Unlike the other teams on this list, Milwaukee does not have a winning SU record, but actually does find itself in the playoff race in the weak Eastern Conference. Note that the Bucks are 13-6 ATS when favored this season.
5. Portland Trail Blazers 28-24-1 ATS (30-23 SU) – There is clear and considerable drop off between #4 and #5 on this list and in fact, the Blazers rank just one-half game ahead of the Suns and Cavaliers to make the final spot on our list. Despite enduring a bevy of injuries, the most recent to All Star PG Brandon Roy, Portland currently occupies the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Away from home is where they have been most profitable, going 15-9 ATS.